Secret 9: Be Full of Beans

Why eat beans and other legumes? According to Beare, not only are legumes high in protein and fiber (the sponge that mops up toxins along its journey through your body and out the other end), and low in fat, but they contain anti-aging antioxidant flavenoids and anticancer agents protease inhibitors and isoflavone genistein. In short, legumes are a valuable addition to a well-balanced diet.

I have to confess, legumes are not my favorite food. I prefer food with a high water content, such as fruit, or foods that are tangy. But I do enjoy a some legumes. One that is always a great snack and a popular, easy-to-serve appetizer at parties is organic edamame. The fresher, the tastier. Here in Denver one of the best places to obtain delicious organic edamame is Sam's Club.

Another favorite with the family are peas. Frozen peas are fast to heat up and a nice addition to the lunch box. Here is an adapted pea soup recipe from one of our favorite authors 'Roald Dahl'. Check out 'Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes' illustrated by Quentin Blake. Even if you do not try the tasty recipes, you may get a laugh out of the illustrations and the creativity that went into the dishes. Recipes include George's Marvellous Medicine chicken soup, lickable wallpaper, wormy spaghetti and hair toffee to make hair grow on bald men.  

Perhaps the Dahl's green pea soup received high marks from the family due to all the 'not-recommended by Beare' dairy ingredients:

Green pea soup:

• 2 tablespoons butter  (if possible, rBGH- free butter.  Available at Whole Foods)
• 8 scallions (they are usually found near onions but are smaller and have thin, brown skin)
• 1 small potato
• 1 garlic clove
• 12 oz frozen peas
• 3.75 cups of chicken stock (if possible, organic and from free-range chicken)
• salt and pepper

Garnish with 6 oz. frozen peas and 5 oz. of heavy cream

1. Melt butter in pan
2. Chop scallions, dice potato, crush garlic and add to pan
3. Cover pan and simmer for 10 min.
4. Add peas, stock, salt and pepper. Boil, then simmer for 15 min
5. Remove from stove and mix in a blender (since this is v. hot cover blender with foil that has been punctured to avoid a scalding mess)
6. Reheat blended mixture, add peas to garnish, cook until peas are just tender, add cream

Enjoy!


Another easy, super fast and tasty home-made appetizer using garbanzo beans is hummus.  A friend who from Iraq taught me this recipe:

Rachel's hummus:

• 1 can garbanzo beans, drain some liquid but not all
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of tahini (ground sesame seeds)
• juice from one lemon

The instructions could not be simpler:  put all the above in blender. Serve with raw vegetables or pita bread.


And finally, how about some bean dessert?
This is popular among Chinese from the South. Makes a hearty, warm soup in the winter.


Red-bean soup:

• 5 cups or 1.25 liters water
• 1 cup adzuki red beans (available at Sunflower)
• 1/2 cup of sugar (preferably rock sugar but any sugar will do)

1. Soak red beans in water overnight in fridge
2. Boil cold water
3. Drain beans and add to boiling water
4. Cook 30 minutes until beans are soft
5. Add sugar and allow dessert to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before eating

If you did not grow up with this dessert, red bean soup may be a bit of an acquired taste.

So there you are. Three variations on how to make beans and legumes more palatable.

Take-away: don't forget to add beans and other legumes to your diet. Even if you are not a bean fan, you will find some version of serving them (i.e. Indian dhal, Japanese edamame or some other country's version) that will make this food more delectable!